Faculty Handbook - Appendix C
Preparing Reports for the Faculty Senate
- On the front
of the report should be a reference code which, at a glance, indicates
the committee source or subject of the report, the number in a series
of reports from that committee or on that subject, and the year in which
the report is made. The secretary of the Faculty Senate shall assign
these reference code numbers. The date of the placement of the report
on the agenda should be given under the code number.
- The report should
then reproduce the mandate and any interpretation of that mandate which
has developed in the committee which is making the report.
- The report should
next describe the recommendations being proposed in order to alert the
reader to the direction the report will take. In a long report these
recommendations may be repeated at the conclusion of or throughout the
report and then should be placed in the form of motions or a motion
on which the assembly shall act. Omnibus and all-inclusive motions,
and those which can be divided, should be avoided.
- The report should
next state, if pertinent, an analysis of the problem. This may be the
history of the issue, the present status of the question, and the objectives
of the proposed change.
- Thereupon should
follow the argumentation and development of the proposal or proposals.
Whenever optional proposals have been considered by the committee, the
pros and cons of these options should be given, along with the rationale
for the committee recommendation.
- Committee members
who do not concur in the report may submit minority views over their
signatures. Such reports should be considered with the majority report
unless there is an objection; in this event the matter of the objection
should be submitted to the assembly for vote without debate. Proposals
for action in minority reports may reach the floor only as amendments
to or substitutions for the majority committee proposals.
- Preparation of
committee reports for Faculty Senate meetings is the responsibility
of the committee chairperson or his or her designee. If services for
preparation, reproduction, and distribution of reports are not available
in department offices, the reports should be submitted to the office
of an administrative representative on the committee who should see
to the processing and distribution to faculty. If a committee does not
have an administrative representative, reports should be submitted to
the Academic Administration Office.
- Faculty senators
should know clearly in advance of a meeting the issues on which they
will be asked to make decisions or comments. Thus reports should be
distributed early enough to allow thoughtful consideration. Reports
from administrators should not be exempt from this principle.
- Reports should
be brief. The intent of the above guidelines is to reduce to a formula
everything the senators will need to know, eliminating the need for
questions of information.
